Review published on September 26, 2017.

DC Connie Childs has just returned to work and she is not too sure if she has come back too soon, but no matter, it is a job that she loves. When the call comes through in the early hours Connie is being dragged out of bed to a suspicious fire at the request of the Fire Brigade in Brampton. With DI Sadler, she heads to the fire, more in silent resignation than hope, as these calls only ever mean one thing – death.

Once again, Connie goes her own way on the case, does not listen to Sadler or any other of the team, and ends up in the Daily Mail after the case has been closed. When she is suspended she still ignores all the known evidence and goes head long into a private investigation to uncover the secrets that the family involved seem to be hiding. As she gets further involved in the case, she notices her car gets vandalised, but carries on regardless. She does find that time has not healed any rifts in the family. Connie really would like to bridge that and achieve closure for both her and the case.

Connie Childs is on a one-way career destruction course, ignoring her detective inspector, because she knows she is correct, even if the evidence does not show that. Her health is not at its best and it looks like she may lose the one things she cares more about – her police career.

Sarah Ward really knows how to bring a family’s secrets out into the open and make them interesting and throw in a few added twists to the story. She is really developing Connie Childs into a character you can believe in, if not love, and scream at her to eat something for a change too. This really is a fantastic mystery that keeps you guessing all the way to the last sentence and, as always, there’s a sting in the tail.

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